Disclaimer: All of these characters belong to J.K Rowling etc. etc.

Authorts Note: This is my FIRST fan fiction ever. So enjoy it, or don't. Im up for any type of critism, so give it your best shot. I would like to dedicate this chapter to Hogwarts- Thank you so much for believeing in me when I didnt even believe in myself. Also, thank you for editing this chapter!

Chapter one.

It was the beginning of the trio's sixth year at Hogwarts, Perhaps the most dreaded year

of all. Voldemort was truly back and no one had doubted it this time.

Harry Potter sighed as he rested his head against a window in the Hogwarts express.

"What's wrong mate?" asked Ron, but Harry shook his head and closed his eyes. Ron gave Hermione a concerned look.

"Harry you haven't said a single word the whole ride." Hermione said with a hint of sympathy in her voice. Harry didn't answer.

"Fine then, I'm going to see how much longer we have until we get there." Hermione said irritably as she walked out of the compartment they were sitting in.

"Come on Harry, what's with you?" Ron asked on a sigh.

Harry turned and looked at Ron. He didn't exactly know what was wrong. Ever since the beginning of the summer he slipped into a deep depression. He hadn't talked to anyone, well except when he was yelling at his oafish cousin, Dudley. Harry supposed that it was correlated with Sirius's death, but one night when he was laying in bed wishing he could fall asleep more easily, different thoughts came about. He started to remember things that he had never even experienced, yet he was in these memories.

"I'm fine." Harry stated blandly.

"No, your not! You have hardly said a word for the past two weeks you've been at my house. Mum was having a fit. She's worried about you Harry. We all are."

As Ron finished his last words the train stopped, and Hermione swung open the compartment door. "We're here"

"Welcome everyone to yet another year at Hogwarts," Dumbledore bellowed to the hundreds of kids sitting in the great hall. "This year, I want all of you to feel safe here at this school. Voldemort's…" as Dumbledore said this there were flinches in the Hall. "Voldemort's return has put a damper on all of your lives, I'm sure. But here at Hogwarts everything is safe. I don't want Voldemort's return to have any effect on your performance here at school." Dumbledore stated in a firm tone, "Now that you all are fed, its time for you to rest up. And again, Welcome back."

As Dumbledore finished his short speech almost everyone headed for the doors.

Draco Malfoy was one who had stayed behind the rest of the student body. He was speaking with Crabbe and Goyle.

"You got that Crabbe?" Draco asked seriously.

"Yeah, I will meet you guys at five next week on the Quidditch field." Crabbe said in obedient response.

"Good." Goyle and Draco said in unison.

"Hey you! What are you runts still doing here?" Filtch demanded in a hoarse voice as he snuck up behind the trio.

Goyle, Draco and Crabbe took off at full speed. As Draco ran out of the great hall doors he collided with a witch and toppled to the ground. He held his breathe and listened for Filtch's voice. There was no sound. Draco could feel a body stiff underneath him and he looked down. Oh shit. It's Granger he thought. She was looking him in the eye. He felt vague surprised she wasn't hurling insults at him.

"If you don't mind, I would like to get up." Hermione said with apparent annoyance in her voice.

Draco surveyed Hermione. Something changed about her. She looked different. She looked older and he liked it.

"Watch where your going next time you damn mud-blood." When the words left his mouth, they didn't make him feel satisfied like the other times he had called her a mud-blood. This time the words make him feel a twinge of guilt. He looked down at her lips. He wanted to kiss her. Before he could convince himself otherwise he lowered his head, put his hand on her cheek and crashed his lips to hers.

The cold ground below Hermione went warm, her cheeks flushed and her heart picked up its pace. Hermione put her hands in Draco's hair and changed the angle of the kiss.

He expected her to suppress, but she was definitely not restraining. He expected to hate kissing Hermione, but he felt excitement rather than hatred pumping through his veins, and he did not like that. It took everything inside of him to pull away from her.

It took Hermione numerous seconds to regain her composure, and once she did she realized an ache was spreading through her. She felt Draco's weight lift off of her body and she stumbled as she rose. Once Hermione was steady she took a step closer to Draco and.. (WHAPP!) She smacked him square on his left cheek.

"Bloody hell women, what's your problem?" Draco demanded as he brought his hand up to his cheek.

"You're my problem Malfoy. How dare you just... just... attack me like that!"

"Seemed to me that you were doing nothing to try and stop it." he stated, his voice growing louder in indignation.

"Why did you even do it then?" Hermione asked scathingly.

"Because I wanted to Granger, and I always get what I want." he said, but his tone was now cool and indifferent.

"Think again wise ass!" she bent down to collect her books and she stormed away.

"I want her", he thought to himself amused, even though he didn't like the fact that he wanted her. And then to comfort himself he reasoned to not let it go any farther than wanting.

The kiss infuriated her. She had never felt her heart beat so erratically in her life. "It was only because he fell on me and knocked the wind out of me." She told herself over and over as she made her way back to the Gryffindor common room. But she knew there was more to it then just falling over and loosing her breathe. She gave the password to the Fat Lady and walked inside the common room.

Hermione was stunned to see Harry lying on top of Ginny. She was even more stunned to see them snogging.

"Well, isn't today just filled with surprises." Hermione said as she walked over to an empty chair and sunk into it.

Harry leapt off of Ginny as he heard Hermione's voice. "Hermione.. Umm.. We were just-"

"Harry, you don't have to explain." Hermione said

"You mean.. You don't care if Ginny and me.. are together?" Harry asked

"Of course not. I think it's wonderful. If anyone is going to care its Ron."

"We know, that's why you have to promise not to tell him." Ginny said, an anxious look on her

face.

"Don't worry. I will have no problem keeping your secret. But what are you going to do if he finds out?" Hermione asked

"Well, we were just hoping he wouldn't find out" Ginny said slowly.

"Harry, I need to talk to Ginny alone." Hermione said, looking over to Harry.

"Okay, I'm going to go to bed. 'Night Hermione." As Harry said this he walked over to Ginny and gave her a peck on the lips, and whispered something in her that made her giggle.

"See you tomorrow." He said softly and nipped at her earlobe.

When Harry was out of earshot Hermione got up and started to pace the room.

"Hermione, is something the matter?" Ginny asked, biting her lip.

"How did you do it?" Hermione asked crisply as she sat in the chair across from Ginny.

"Do what?"

"Get Harry to be Happy. This is the first time in two weeks that he has actually looked like he was enjoying life." Hermione said matter-of-factly.

"I didn't do anything intentionally."

"Well how did you guys end up… you know… kissing?" Hermione asked awkwardly

"After dinner I came in here to read.." she started as she pointed to a book that was lying on the floor. "Everyone had gone up to bed. Harry and Ron came in late. Ron went right to bed, but Harry sat down next to me. I didn't think anything of it. I just went on reading." Ginny said and paused for a minute as she brought her knees up to her chin. "Then he asked me what my book was about. I didn't think he was really interested, just thought he was making small talk. I told him what it was about and then he told me that it was a waste of my time. I put my book down and looked at him. Then we started arguing about god knows what. Then out of nowhere, he kissed me. A minute or two later you walked in." Ginny said. "But its not the first time we've kissed." Ginny finished

Hermione shrieked "WHAT?"

"The first time we kissed was the day we went to get him from the Dursley's"

"Why didn't you tell me?" Hermione asked, hurt.

"Harry asked me not to tell anyone." Ginny stated

"Did you know why he has been so unhappy?"

"Nope, haven't hammered that one out of him yet. I figure if he wants me to know, he will tell me. I'm not saying I wont ask again sooner or later, but I have to give it time." Ginny said, and then: "Hermione, what's really wrong?" Ginny asked.

Hermione looked at Ginny for a moment then sighed. "If I tell you, you have to promise not to tell anyone." Hermione said.

"I swear" Ginny said as she shifted on the couch, leaning towards Hermione eagerly.

"Draco Malfoy took my first kiss"

"Are you serious?" Ginny squealed "When?"

"After dinner I went to Professor Mcgonagall's class room to ask her about my schedule. There was a course on it that I had already taken last year. After it was fixed I started to walk back to the common room. I saw Malfoy running out of the great hall and I guess he didn't see me because he ran right into me and we fell to the floor. I asked curtly if I could get up, he told me to watch where I was going next time, and then he kissed me." Hermione said then let out a long breath. "And the worst part was that I actually liked it."

"Hermione!" Ginny exclaimed

"It's horrible, I know. I shouldn't have liked it. I hate Malfoy." Hermione knew she was whining but at the moment she did not care.

"What are you going to do?" Ginny asked

"I'm not going to do anything. I'm just going to act like it never happened. I have never had a problem avoiding Malfoy in the past, I don't think it will be any harder now."

Ginny got up and went to pick up her book. "I wish you the best of luck with that one, Hermione."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked as she stood up

"I'm just saying it's not going to be as easy as you think to avoid Malfoy this time"

"How do you know?" Hermione Snapped

"Well, for starters, he kissed you. That means something. I might be wrong. But why would Malfoy kiss you if he had no intentions of…" Ginny paused for a moment "no intentions of getting involved with you?"

Annoyed, Hermione sat down again and contemplated what Ginny had just said.

"I hope your wrong." Hermione replied, finally defeated.

"Me too" Ginny said as she turned and went up to bed.

Hermione closed her eyes and sighed, "This is going to be an interesting year." She mumbled

Hermione awoke early and couldn't fall back to sleep. She decided to go down to breakfast early and catch up on her reading. As she walked down the stairs her mind trailed off to the night before. What Ginny said had made her uncomfortable. She wanted to believe that forgetting the kiss between her and Draco would be easy, but she was already proving herself wrong.

"This is so stupid, Malfoy has probably already forgotten everything." She murmured to herself as she made her way to the great hall.

"What was that?" a silky voice said behind Hermione. She turned around quickly. When she saw it was him she gasped and stumbled back a few steps.

"You get startled easily, Granger." Draco said. He moved a bit closer and saw her move a step back. "What are you scared of?" he asked quietly

"I'm not scared of anything, Malfoy" Hermione shot back

"Oh really." He paused for a moment "Then why are you moving away from me?" Draco asked as he took a step forward and again, saw her take a step back.

"It might have to do with the fact that I find you insufferable, but it has nothing to do with fear." Hermione tried to make her voice sound solid but it came out Shaky. She was lying. She was afraid of him. He took a step closer. She took a step back. She looked up and caught his eye. The way his pale gray eyes roamed her face made something knot in her stomach.

"I have to get out of here!" she thought to herself. She took a step back and hit a wall. Hermione started to panic when she saw the gleam of amusement in Malfoy's eyes. He slowly moved closer and lowered his head until there lips were an inch apart.

"Your afraid of what happens to you when I touch you." He whispered as he pulled her a bit closer.

"Who the hell are you to tell me-" That was it. Her words were terminated completely as his mouth clamped over hers. She stood there and let his lips grind her mind to mush.

She had pushed him beyond his own rules. Grabbing unwilling women was not what Draco normally did. Oh, but she tasted of rich honey. The kind that you are always compelled to lick off your finger. The kind that, even as a little child he couldn't resist. When her lips opened for his, he dived in. Wanting more.

She could feel his hands on the back of her neck. Her skin seemed to be on fire. As sensations started to swim through her she threw her arms around his neck and gave him back desire for desire. He pulled her closer and they made a single figured shadow on the wall.

"Hey!" a squeaky voice shouted from what seemed like afar.

The sound didn't register in her head.

"Hey!" the voice shouted again, louder.

Draco could have cheerfully committed murder. He kept a hand on Hermione's waist and turned his head and looked down at a very short boy that looked like he was in his first year.

"Go away" Draco demanded "Very far away" His voice was very deep and angry now. He could feel Hermione pulling away from him. The boy's eyes got wide and he ran away. When Draco turned back, Hermione was bending down to collect her books.

"Granger, I…" He was cut off

"Don't ever touch me, ever again." Hermione hissed, turned and walked into the great hall where she knew it was safe.

Her heart was still pressing hard blows against her ribs when she sat down at the Gryffindor table and buried her head in a book. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. She didn't like the helpless feeling Draco gave her every time he came around. She hated it that he could make her mind go blank within seconds. She hated it that he could make her heart beat so fast. She hated it even more that her heart wasn't beating fast out of anger, but from desire, from need. Of all people why would Draco Malfoy make her feel desire, feel that aching need in the pit of her stomach?

"Hermione, are you alright?" Ron asked as he and Harry sat down across from her.

She closed her book and sat up. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"How long have you been down here?" Harry asked

"Not long. I couldn't sleep. So I can down here to catch up on my reading."

"Aren't you going to eat?" Harry asked as he put some toast on his plate.

"I'm not hungry." Hermione stated

"Hi guys!" Ginny said as she sat down next to Hermione.

They all greeted Ginny. Ron started a deep conversation with Harry about Quidditch. Life went on beyond Draco. Right before breakfast was over Dumbledore stood up, and The Great Hall became quite.

"Everyone but sixth years can go to there first class." Dumbledore said.

Once all the other grades were cleared out Dumbledore started to speak again.

"This year there is going to be a project that all sixth years must complete. This project is going to involve four of your class subjects. Potions, Defense against the Dark Arts, Care of Magical Creatures, and Transfiguration." Dumbledore paused, as there were groans in the great hall. "You will have partners for this project. You will not have a partner that is in your house. You and your partner will attend those four classes together until the project is finished. During class your teacher will give you time to work with your partner. You will also have to work on it outside of class. On the days you are not scheduled to attend those classes then you are to go back to your normal schedule." Dumbledore paused for a moment and cleared his throat. "For the potions part of this project, you will need to make a potion that turns your partner into an animal for a certain period of time. For the Defense against the dark arts part, you will need to find and prefect a spell that defends this animal from harm. For Care of Magical Creatures, you will need to research and write a paper on how to take care of this animal. Last but not least, for Transfiguration, you will need to find and prefect a spell to change your animal back into a human. Your teachers will give you more detailed directions when you are in the class. Now, I am going to assign partners." Dumbledore said, a twinkle in his blue eyes.

It took 20 minutes until he got to the Gryffindors.

"Ronald Weasly and Pansy Parkinson" as Dumbledore said this Ron froze.

"Harry Potter and Vincent Crabbe. Neville Longbottom and Gregory Goyle." Harry was stunned. Neville was more terrified than stunned. Dumbledore read off more names.

"Seamus Finnigan and Blaise Zabini." Seamus chocked on his pumpkin juice and glared at his haughty Slytherin counterpart.

A smile twitched at the corners of Dumbledore's lips.

Last but not least, Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy."